After
Chevalier Ramsay suggested in 1737 that Freemasons were closely connected to the Knights Templar,
a tidal wave of interest in Masonry began. It also generated a strong desire among Masons to participate in knightly orders. As a result, the Scottish Rite and York Rite branches
of Freemasonry became filled with knightly degrees.

The
supporting evidence was not clear, so several proposals were
made about how a link between Templars and Masons could have existed. The most famous
of these was that when the Templars were attacked by King Philip of France and Pope Clement V in 1307
some of the knights made their way to Scotland. There they were said to have
helped Robert the
Bruce win Scotland's independence from England in 1314. That famous battle at
Bannockburn is depicted above, and it actually took place. But the presence
of any men in Templar uniforms at that battle has never been proved. In fact the opposite has been
fairly well established.

Several
other attempts to make this connection between Masons and Knights
Templar fared no better. John Robinson made a valiant effort in 1989 to show
this connection in his book Born In Blood, and many of his
points were very convincing. But he stopped short, and as a result the
controversy has continued.

Now
a new series of facts have emerged that show a more full and complete
picture of what happened to the Templars who survived the attacks on their
Order. And the similarities to Freemasonry are intriguing. The most
prominent book to
explore these is Sworn in Secret. Some of those new
facts are simply amazing and worthy of serious consideration.